Prescription Drug Abuse Up In Schools

The recent death of an East Texas teen has brought the abuse of prescription drugs into the spotlight.

Drugs like Oxycontin and Xanax usually come in prescription form, but many children are getting ahold of the drugs and using them outside of their intended use.

Sergeant Mark Tedder is a police officer for Tyler Independent School District. He says more and more, prescription drugs are being used and sold on high school and middle school campuses. Even more than popular drugs like Marijuana and Cocaine. And while they do their best to stop any type of drug use at school, he says parents can also look for a few signs to help them keep track of their kids.

Signs of drug abuse include:

-A drop in performance at school -A drop in performance in activities-Extreme depression-Anxiety -Change in peer groups

He also warns parents to pay attention to their kids friends.

"One or two symptoms for a day or two... it may not be anything, but they need to watch who their kids are hanging out with, who are their friends," Tedder said "All of these things together, in coordination with their performance in school, there can be a neon light that can mean your child needs some sort of help or something is going wrong.

He said that help can come by contacting a school counselor, or asking your school's police officer. He said the best way is for parents to talk about the issue directly with their children.